looking at it more- this is how i imagine zelda. very dramatic. dark. full of relationships that provide context to the adventure.

that’s why i was turned off by the recent TP. It was just too goofy too often and too unfocussed too often.

ocarina of time was really the highlight of the series for me.

before that, the original zeldas on the NES were my favorite because you imparted all the drama. there was an element of playing pretend that gave great context to the adventure. and this picture is pretty much the context i gave it.

i’d like to see zelda lose some of those roots that are overly goofy and weirdly out of place and replace them with storytelling. playing pretend doesnt work as well for me anymore, either due to my advancing age or the state of the art (games are so much more expressive now they fill up the space imagination used to fill up), or both.

not that zelda should lose all its goofiness. just the aspects that are out of place. like an entire lake devoted to flying a chicken from a farmhouse to blocks placed on the lake. or how the same enemy spawn at the same place, every time.

ocarina, and the original TP trailer of impending battle as enemies come through the sunrise, are more in my ideal vision of zelda. goofiness and laughs are still allowed, even required, but the weird things that seem out of place should go. And in their place should be more characterization to properly fill the void that the player’s own imagination no longer seems appropriate to fit.